The history of what is now the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, (Saint Mary Major) dates back to the mid 4th century with the Pope Liberius.
Legend narrates that the church was built from a shrine dedicated to the Blessed Mary after an apparition of the saint manifested before the eyes of a local Roman patrician and his wife and the miraculous snowfall on August 5th 358. It was then that the roots of the present day Basilica were planted.
The miraculous event is commemorated annually with a mass and a representation of the miracle which includes the falling of white rose petals from the Basilica's dome.
Santa Maria Maggiore, the largest church in Rome dedicated to the Virgin Mary, has seen different modifications throughout the centuries along with different names, but nonetheless, it is the only basilica in Rome that has kept the core of its original structure. In 432, the church was enlarged and elaborated by Pope Sistus III, but most of what we see today was added centuries later. The Bethlehem crypt, one of the oldest parts of the church, holds the body of Saint Jerome, one of the few honored "Doctor's of the Church", who translated the bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. His editon, the Vulgate, is still the official biblical text of the Roman Catholic Church. The Athenian columns in marble date also back to the original church and ancient mosaics found in the church also date back to its origins.
The apse was rebuilt in the 13th century and in 1348 the church was damaged by an earthquake and slowly restored again in following years with the modifications to the Romanesque bell-tower, the highest in Rome measuring at 75 meters in height. The pyramidal spire was added in the 16th century.
The façade we see today was designed by Ferdinando Fuga in 1743 who also designed the Chapel of the relics a few years later. The gilded angels, originally placed on the canopy but later moved to the top of the loggia, were done by Pietro Bracci in 1749.
Santa Maria Maggiore's exquisite architectural design holds a patrimony of art depicting the fine and remarkable history of Rome and the great people who lived and contributed to making it one of the most beautiful and visited churches in the world.